Super Bowl Makes Minneapolis the “Most Mobile-Friendly City” in US

One year before the Vikings’ 2017-2108 season even began, preparations were underway for Super Bowl 52 at U.S. Bank Stadium. With over $1 billion invested in permanent network upgrades and Advanced LTE technology, wireless data capacity was increased by 500%.

Preparing for Increased Data Usage

Verizon spent the past off-season increasing DAS capabilities by 48% to handle the exponential jump in traffic and now has over 100 DAS zones stadium-wide. Amidst the upgrade process, Verizon discovered that in-stadium DAS traffic for Vikings home games was greater than the previous Super Bowl in Houston.

On game day, there was over 50 terabytes of cellular data traffic, double the amount from the previous year. To put it in perspective, 50 TB is the equivalent of streaming HD video for 1,208 days straight. WiFi usage also broke the record held previously by last year’s Super Bowl, but numbers have yet to be released. Verizon experienced the highest average download speeds of all national carriers and was used by 57% of attendees, an annual growth of 12%. AT&T saw a slight decrease in in-stadium traffic but led all carriers in traffic outside of the
stadium. According to Verizon and AT&T, top uses for cellular data in and around the stadium included web browsing, video, social media, and other sports apps. The most significant uptick in wireless use was during the halftime performance followed by a large spike during kickoff.

Parsons is proud to have been involved with the design and implementation of these upgrades. Our dedicated field staff worked tirelessly with engineers and vendors to fine-tune and maintain these systems during events to ensure peak mobile performance at not just the Super Bowl, but all venues hosting an event during the week. This cutting-edge technology has made Minneapolis the most mobile-friendly city in the country and reaffirmed Parsons’ position as a premier mobile solutions contractor. Read Verizon’s full list of game-day facts here.